I’m writing from all over this week as we’ve been enjoying our annual Road Dawgs Tour with our coaches and Alumni Association. We spend so much time as an athletic department interacting with people electronically or in the form of huge crowds for our athletic events. It’s refreshing to be able to talk with so many of you 1-on-1 in person, and I get a very real sense of satisfaction seeing how happy our coaches are to meet our fans and vice-versa.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the enthusiasm for coaches Schaefer, Howland and Mullen as we’ve been on the road. They are all at different points in their careers at Mississippi State and I’m looking forward to continuing to watch their progress and experience what they’ve built. As much as we brag about record crowds on campus, I feel I should give credit for record Road Dawgs crowds, as we had packed crowds at every venue we visited!

It sounds cliché to say, but nothing at MSU could be done without all of you. We treasure the chances we have to connect and interact in these settings.

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RECORD SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM FOR BULLDOG STUDENTS

I take great pride in the success our teams have on the field, but nothing makes me prouder than to see our young men and women excel in the classroom. For the first time ever, our cumulative GPA for our student-athletes in fall 2014 and spring 2015 was a 3.00! I am thrilled for our students and the job they have done balancing education and athletics. It’s no easy task and their success shows the type of young men and women our coaches have recruited to campus.

Our women’s sports posted their highest cumulative GPA ever with a combined 3.30, led by soccer’s all-time female team sport high GPA of 3.56. For only the third time ever, every single one of our women’s teams posted a GPA above 3.00.

On the men’s side, tennis led the way with a team GPA of 3.25, while our baseball and golf teams also hit the 3.00 mark.

All told, we had a combined 69 men and women make either the Dean’s Scholar or President’s Scholar List, and 142 of 268 scholarship students earned a GPA of 3.00 or higher this spring.

Congratulations, Bulldogs!

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SEC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN STARKVILLE

We’ve been talking about it all year, and the time is finally here. Starting tomorrow, we will host the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex. Annually, this is one of the largest gatherings of elite athletes as we welcome hundreds of the SEC’s best competitors, including a substantial number of past and future Olympians.

Beginning Thursday morning and continuing through Saturday afternoon, there are plenty of opportunities to come watch our Top-20 Bulldog teams, as well as all of those from around the SEC. All-session tickets are $20 for adults and free for those 18 and under. Single-day tickets are $10 for adults and free for those 18 and under. SEC Network+ will have some live coverage on Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit the SEC website as well as our championship headquarters.

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46,000 FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS SOLD

As of yesterday, I’m proud to say over 46,000 season tickets for the 2015 football season have been secured! With our home-opener against LSU at four months away, that number will only continue to grow. As we’ve traveled with Road Dawgs recently, all of our coaches have spoken at length about how much the support from the fans means. Coach Mullen himself repeatedly states the program would not be where it is now if it weren’t for all of you showing up by the tens of thousands for our games starting day one back in 2009.

Every season ticket sold from here on out sets a new record, a testament to the job Coach Mullen’s staff has done and to the dedication from our fans. Thanks to smaller ticket allotments than usual for some of our home opponents, we actually have more season tickets available than ever. Make sure to call the Bulldog Club or visit www.hailstate.com/tickets to join the fun.

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SOFTBALL IN NCAA TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND

While nearly 1,000 people will be coming to campus this weekend for track and field, we’ll be sending a few dozen of our own on the road. Congratulations to Coach Vann Stuedeman and our Bulldog softball team for making a FOURTH-STRAIGHT NCAA Tournament! It bears reminding that Vann has been here exactly four years, giving her quite the success rate in reaching the postseason.

We’ll be playing Baylor on Friday at 5:30 on ESPN3 in our first game of the Lafayette Regional, then taking on either ULL or Weber State on Saturday. If you’re nearby, make sure to go support the Bulldogs. No matter where any of us are, we’ll be cheering for them all the way through!

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We appreciate what you do for Mississippi State Athletics and want to encourage you to get others involved. There are three things you can do to help the athletic department at Mississippi State reach its desired goals –